Vision Correction Surgery : Corrective Eye Surgeries for Refractive Errors

'Vision Correction Surgery : Corrective Eye Surgeries for Refractive Errors'

Vision is too often taken for granted.

What would you do if you find your kid facing difficulty in reading from the board or question on his/her test?

What would have been your take on you inefficiency to see things clear while driving, or cook for your family, or read assignments at work?

Vision disorder or loss is the situation that works as a life changing event. There are numerous vision impairments that remain unnoticeable until it gets converted into condition of major vision loss.

Thus, vision correction surgery^[1] is one of the effective ways to correct vision disorder or prevent it from further worsening. Laser and refractive eye surgery^[2] are other common names for vision correction surgery. Tremendous advancements, in recent years, in the field of laser and refractive eye surgery have resulted in satisfied patients, who report better vision.

Types of Vision Problems

Some level of wear and tear is an obvious condition as eyes are used relatively more than any other body part. There are a few vision disorders that are common in nature and require regular maintenance. Here are some of the common vision impairments found in adults and children.

• Most Common Adult Vision Problems:

• Most Common Childhood Vision Problems:
  • Blurred Vision (called Refractive Errors)
  • Lazy eye (called amblyopia)
  • Crossed eyes (called strabismus)

Considerations

A medical professional could be consulted to evaluate the condition of vision change, dimness of vision, halos around lights, blind spots, and blurriness. These conditions may be aftermaths of any eye disease, injury, aging or diabetes. Irrespective of the reason, vision disorder should not be taken for granted. Professional help is considered very important to evaluate the condition and prevent further worsening that would directly affect your quality of life. According to the requirement, here are a few that could be taken into consideration:

• Opticians, who do not diagnose eye disorder, dispense glasses.
• Optometrists, who examine eyes and diagnose eye problems. Professionals prescribe contact lenses and glasses. In few conditions, they also treat diseases responsible for vision disorders.
• Ophthalmologists, who after examining eye, diagnose and treat eye problems. They are also specialized in performing eye surgery. These medical professionals also provide vision care services, including prescribing contact lenses and glasses.
• There is also a situation when a general health ailment results in eye disorder, thus, primary medical care provider could be consulted.

Vision Correction Treatments & Surgeries

The treatments and surgeries of vision are either done by clearing the front part of the eye or reshaping the cornea. There also are some of the conditions that require replacement of the natural lens of the eye. There are numerous types of surgeries available to improve vision. Some of them are as listed below:

• LASIK: LASIK^[3] (short for Laser In-situ Keratomileusis) is the corrective measure used in the condition of farsighted, nearsighted, or astigmatism. In this surgery, the corneal tissue is reshaped to correct the vision.
• PRK: PRK (short for PhotoRefractive Keratectomy) is considered effective in the treatment of mild to moderate conditions of farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism. In the surgical procedure, a laser is used to reshape the cornea.
• LASEK: LASEK (short for Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis) is a version of PRK. In this surgery, an epithelial flap is made and thereafter alcohol solution is used to loosen epithelial cells. Further, the flap is replaced after the cornea is reshaped using laser. A soft contact lens is used to secure the flap while it heals.
• RLE: RLE (short for Refractive Lens Exchange) is also popular as Clear Lens Extraction. The surgery is very much similar to that for cataracts. A small incision is made at the cornea's edge to remove and replace the eye's natural lens with a plastic or silicon lens. This surgery is done in terms of extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness. Further, in case of extreme astigmatism procedures such as LASEK, PRK, Epi-LASIK or CK id required along with RLE.

• Epi-LASIK: Alike PRK, in Epi-LASIK, the cornea is reshaped after separating a very thin layer from the cornea. A soft contact lens is used to protect the area.
• PRELEX: PRELEX (short for Presbyopic Lens Exchange) is the surgery through which presbyopia is corrected by implanting a multifocal lens. This is required as the natural lens of the eye is unable to focus on close objects due to inflexibility.
• Intacs: Intacs (short for Intracorneal Ring Segments) is also known as ICR. In this surgery, a small incision is made in the cornea and 2 crescent shaped plastic rings are placed at the cornea. The plastic rings flatten the cornea, thus correcting the condition of mild nearsightedness. Intacs^[4] is also effective in correcting keratoconus, which causes loss of vision due to irregularity and thinning in the cornea.
• Phakic Intraocular Lens Implants: This surgery is designed for patients who are diagnosed with nearsighted for LASIK and PRK. In this surgery, a small incision is created at the edge of the cornea and behind the pupil, connecting to the iris.

• AK or RLI: AK (short for Astigmatic Keratotomy) is also another name for RLI. Rather than being a laser eye surgery, this procedure is surgical, found effective in correcting the condition of astigmatism. People suffering from astigmatism have cornea in the shape of a football. At the steepest part of the cornea, an incision is made, which allows the cornea to relax and get back in more rounded shape. Astigmatic Keratotomy may be done individually or in combination of other surgeries like LASIK, RK or PRK.
• RK: RK (short for Radial Keratotomy) is the surgery that was once the most popular and frequently used to rectify the condition of nearsightedness. RK is regarded as an obsolete procedure after the development of more effective laser eye surgeries like LASIK and PRK.

Tips for Eye Health and Maintaining Good Eyesight

Eating right and exercise is are a few of the very common ways to prevent vision disorders. Thus, consulting a medical practitioner in case of any vision hindrance is also an effective way to protect and prevent vision disorder from worsening. Therefore, for alarming situations, there also are surgeries available that are acclaimed for effective result.

References

1. ^{^} Vision Correction in India (www.medicalindiatourism.com)
2. ^{^} Refractive Corneal Surgery in India (www.medicalindiatourism.com)
3. ^{^} LASIK Laser Eye Surgery in India (www.medicalindiatourism.com)
4. ^{^} INTACS Treatment in India (www.medicalindiatourism.com)